The one on the left is a 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 (commonly referred to as a 3x4) made sometime in 1941 to mid '42. The military didn't use 3x4 cameras and at some point they stopped production until the war was over. But as a war correspondent, I would think almost anything goes.

The one on the right is a 4x5 Speed Graphic made between 1943-1945. The lens might be older than the camera. Dial Compur shutters didn't normally appear after the war started, having been replaced with US made Supermatic shutters.

HOWEVER. Most if not all of the better Ektar lenses and Supermatic shutters were going to the US Government for military use. Civilians and even pseudo-civilian war correspondents had to make to with what was available, and that makes this lens / shutter a very good 're-enactment' camera

I can't read what the lens is, it's usually a Carl Zeizz Jena Tessar or a Kodak Anastigmat._________________"In order to invent, you need a good imagination and a lot of junk" Thomas Edison

The one on the left is a 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 (commonly referred to as a 3x4) made sometime in 1941 to mid '42. The military didn't use 3x4 cameras and at some point they stopped production until the war was over. But as a war correspondent, I would think almost anything goes.

The one on the right is a 4x5 Speed Graphic made between 1943-1945. The lens might be older than the camera. Dial Compur shutters didn't normally appear after the war started, having been replaced with US made Supermatic shutters.

HOWEVER. Most if not all of the better Ektar lenses and Supermatic shutters were going to the US Government for military use. Civilians and even pseudo-civilian war correspondents had to make to with what was available, and that makes this lens / shutter a very good 're-enactment' camera

I can't read what the lens is, it's usually a Carl Zeizz Jena Tessar or a Kodak Anastigmat.

Thank you for your explanation.

The lens on the bigger (black) camera is a COMPUR JCA or ICA Dresden Germany. Pat. 1914

The 329xxx serial number places the camera sometime in 1944 (there were several batches, but none have a monthly date) The fact that this shutter is engraved ICA makes me believe it's not original to the camera as it left New York. ICA was a camera company with no relationship to Graflex, and it would be difficult to believe Graflex put a competitor's lens/shutter on it. When the switch was made would be impossible to pinpoint. The camera could have been sold by Graflex without a lens and an American put the lens on during the war. If the camera ended up in Germany / Europe it could have been added after the war. It is interesting that they added / used the solenoid, which leads be to believe the lens was added a long time ago. Most people today wouldn't bother with it.

The 386XXX camera is interesting in that it should be part of the first batch of cameras of the Pacemaker style made in '46, though it clearly is not.

It wouldn't be the first time serial numbers on cameras contradicted either the serial number book or the camera itself.

(I am assuming these were camera serial numbers, not lens serial numbers)_________________"In order to invent, you need a good imagination and a lot of junk" Thomas Edison

The Ica (Dresden) name was gone long before the war and the dial set Compur shutters were replaced by the rim set variety in '29 or '30. It's common to see all kinds of mix and match items on these cameras. The Ica lens should be a Tessar and they are very good lenses. Ica was absorbed into the Zeiss Ikon group._________________Glenn